Karnataka, Gujarat and Saurashtra extend winning streak

Mumbai, Kerala, Punjab, Andhra, Vidarbha, Hyderabad, Delhi post wins

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Karnataka, Saurashtra and Gujarat registered their third successive victories of the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 season.

While Karnataka continue to occupy the pole position in Group A with a thumping win over Maharashtra, Delhi have climbed to No 2 with a thrilling win over UP after conceding the first innings lead. Hyderabad beat Railways to register their first outright win of the season.

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Saurashtra and Gujarat continue to occupy the first two places in the Group B table after remaining unbeaten in the ongoing season. Kerala beat J &K and are placed in the top half of the group’s points table.

Andhra beat MP and replaced them at the top of the Group C table while MP now occupy the second position. Mumbai, who registered their first outright win of the season also keep themselves in the reckoning for a place in the knock-outs. Baroda gained the first innings lead against Tripura and both teams continue to be in the lower half of the table.

In Group D, Punjab claimed the top spot in the points table with a thumping win over Chhattisgarh. Vidarbha beat Services to stay in reckoning for a place in the knock-outs while Bengal took first innings lead against Himachal in a drawn game.

Here are the highlights of Day 4 in the fourth round:

Group A

Railways vs Hyderabad: Hyderabad beat Railways by ten wickets to open their account in the wins column.

Following on, Railways resumed their second innings on 13 without loss on the last day of the match. The hosts were trailing by 215 runs when they came out to bat on Day 4. Shivakant Shukla was the first one to return to the pavilion; bowled by Mehdi Hasan leaving the side on 54 for one. The Hyderabad bowlers then continued to take wickets at regular intervals even as the hosts toiled to keep the innings in the reckoning. The left-arm spinner claimed four wickets while Ravi Kiran and T Ravi Teja picked two wickets each. Pragyan Ojha and K Rohit Rayudu took a wicket apiece to bowl Railways out earlier in the afternoon. Debutant Manish Rao’s unbeaten 128-ball 85 helped the team to 250 before being bowled out.

Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy then chased down the 23-run target in 5.2 overs.

Delhi vs Uttar Pradesh: In a hard-fought game at the Palam ground, Delhi triumphed over UP by four wickets and gained six points from the match. After conceding a first innings lead, Delhi chased down the 252-run target and took take their points tally to 16 and remain in the top half of the points table in the mid-phase of the tournament.

Earlier, after resuming on 224 for seven, UP were bowled out for 229 in the morning. Akshdeep Nath was sent back on his overnight score of 110 by Navdeep Amarjeet Saini. The bowler also claimed the last two wickets to wrap-up the innings and finished with a four-for.

Chasing a stiff target, Delhi lost Gaumtam Gambhir with just six runs on the board. 53 runs later Israr Azim accounted for Dhruv Shorey. Unmukt Chand then ploughed on with Nitish Rana and the two had taken the side to 130 when the opener was sent back by Ankit Rajpoot for 49. After building a 52-run partnership with Milind, Nitish Rana (67) too returned to the dressing room. Milind then held one end up even as the UP bowlers continued to strike at the other. Mohammed Saif, who had sent Rana back also accounted for Rishabh Pant leaving the hosts on 224 for five. Seven runs later Manan Sharma was sent back by Rajpoot.

Milind (48* off 109) and Saini (20* off 12) then joined forces to take Delhi to a win with a 25-run unbroken partnership.

After Maharashtra resumed on 135 for four, Abhimanyu Mithun claimed three wickets upfront to leave the hosts on 178 for seven. Facing an uphill task, R Motwani looked to keep the innings afloat, but 23 runs later, Ronit More accounted for N Dhumal. And couple of overs later, Samad Fallah was trapped lbw by Gowtham K while Karun Nair followed up with the wicket of P Dadhe to wrap-up the Maharashtra innings for 247.

Chasing 238, J & K resumed their innings on 56 for seven and were skittled out for 79 by the spinner. Akshay picked the last three wickets to complete his maiden five-for and finish the game with nine wickets in the bag (4/37 and 5/21).

Gujarat vs Haryana: Piyush Chawla and S Desai claimed five wickets each to bowl Gujarat to a 238-run win over Haryana.

Chasing 361 runs, Haryana were bundled out for 121 after resuming the innings on 94 for seven on the last morning. After the visitors had added 11 runs to the overnight score, Desai claimed H Patel to leave the visitors on 105 for eight. Chawla then wrapped up the innings with the wickets of S Pahal and A Sandhu.

Chawla finished with nine wickets from the match while Desai took picked eight in the game.

Saurashtra vs Jharkhand: With a six wicket win over Jharkhand Saurashtra further strengthened their position in the Group B points table.

Following on, Jharkhand resumed their innings on 139 for one on the fourth morning. Sumit Kumar’s 147-ball 108 and opener Mohammed Nazim Siddique’s 75-ball 99 helped the side post put up a better display in the second innings. However, the Saurashtra attack kept the rest of the lineup on a tight leash to bowl visitors out for 341. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja claimed four wickets while Ravindra Jadeja and Jaydev Unadkat picked two wickets each. V Jivarajani and Chirag Jani took a wicket apiece to set up the game.

However, chasing the 59-run target, Saurashtra lost four wickets. Cheteshwar Pujara opened the innings with Snell Patel and the latter was bowled in the first over by Ashish Kumar. Varun Aaron then claimed the Saurashtra skipper to leave the hosts on 12 for two. 18 runs later, Robin Uthappa was sent back by Ashish while Kaushal Singh accounted for Sheldon Jackson to leave the side on 45 for four. Jani and Ravindra Jadeja then took the team to the finish line.

Baroda vs Tripura: Although Baroda gained three points on the basis of their first innings lead against Tripura, they will continue to remain in the lower half of the team’s points table.

SK Patel, who had taken Tripura to stumps on Day 3 at 327 for four, worked to carry the innings forward on the fourth day. After taking the team past the 400-run mark, he was sent back by Swapnil Singh for 158 leaving the side on 402 for seven. Atit Sheth, S Mangalorkar, R Vaghela and Swapnil claimed two wickets each while Abhijit Karmabelkar and Vishnu Solanki picked a wicket each as they bowled Tripura out for 436 and helped seize a first innings lead.

When the match was called off in a draw, Baroda were 85 for six in their second innings. A Sarkar claimed 5/18.

Andhra vs Madhya Pradesh: Andhra claimed six points with an eight-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh. While Andhra registered their first outright win of the season, MP suffered their first loss.

After resuming on 67 for five, MP were bowled out for 119 by the Ayyappa Bandaru-led (5/34) attack. Bhargav Bhatt claimed Saransh Jain to give the first breakthrough of the day leaving the visitors on 89 for six. Prithvi Raj Yarra and Bandaru then picked two each to bundle the opposition out and set-up the game for the home team.

Chasing the 65-run target, Andhra lost both their openers, but Hanuma Vihari took the team to the paltry target in 13.1 overs.

Odisha vs Mumbai: Pacers bowled Mumbai to their first outright win of the season and claimed six points from the match. The Aditya Tare-led team cantered to a 120-run win over Odisha on the last day of the game.

Chasing a formidable 413-run target, Odisha were wobbling on 93 for four when they resumed the uphill task in the morning. Skipper Govind Podder was the first to be sent back with 83 runs added to the overnight score. Abhishek Nayar castled the top-order batsman for 87 while Akash Parker followed up with the wicket of Shantanu Mishra 20 runs later. Biplab Samantaray then stitched a 45-run stand with Saurabh Rawat in an effort to keep the innings in the fray until Nayar disrupted his stumps. Dhawal Kulkarni then claimed two of the last three wickets while Shardul Thakur picked one to bowl the hosts out for 292.

Bengal vs Himachal: Bengal gained three points on the basis of their first innings lead and took their points tally to 13 while Himachal who received one point will also take their points tally to 13.

Following on Himachal resumed their innings on 207 for two and were bowled out for 353 by the Mohammed Shami-led attack. Mohammed Shami claimed five while Ashoke Dinda picked three wickets to wrap-up the HP innings. PS Khanduri’s 95 at the top of the order and half-centuries by N Gangta and Rishi Dhawan helped HP make a match off it and set the hosts a 141-run target.

Looking to chase down the target and add valuable points, Bengal opened the innings with A Raman and Wriddhiman Saha. However, Dhawan struck vital blows to keep the hosts on their toes. He claimed Raman in the first over and followed up with the wickets of Sudip Chatterjee, Manoj Tiwary and Shreevats Goswami to leave Bengal on 43 for four. Saha was batting with A Eswaran when the match ended in a draw.

Chhattisgarh vs Punjab: Punjab added seven points to their account with an innings and a 118-run win over Chhattisgarh in Raipur.

Chhattisgarh were trailing by 244 runs with six wickets in hand when play resumed on the fourth day. With ten runs added to the overnight total, Siddharth Chandrakar was sent back by Barinder Sran leaving the team on 181 for five. With Jatin Saxena, Ashutosh Singh then carried the team to 216 until the former was removed by Sandeep Sharma. In his next over, the medium pacer ended Ashutosh Singh’s (119 off 222balla) resistance trapping him lbw. 74 runs later, Abhishek Sharma bowled Vishal Singh while Vinay Choudhary claimed the last two wickets in the next to bowl the hosts out for 297.

After resuming their second innings on 111 for two, the hosts declared their innings on 223 for six. A quick-fire 28-ball 48* by Karnewar boosted the hosts total and helped them set Services a 292-run target. Umesh Yadav then set the tone for the innings with the wicket of Ravi Chauhan for a duck. Wakhare and Karn then dismantled the Services lineup, spinning them out for just 99 runs.

Mayank Agarwal slams triple century

Anmolpreet Singh blasts maiden double century

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While Mayank Agarwal posted his maiden triple hundred to put Karnataka in a commanding position, Anmolpreet Singh’s maiden double ton has tipped the balance in Punjab’s favour against Chhattisgarh. Gujarat, Mumbai, Kerala are in an advantageous position at the end of Day 3 of Round 4 in Ranji Trophy 2017-18.

Here are the highlights of the day:

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Railways vs Hyderabad: After dominating with the bat, Hyderabad’s bowling attack put their side in a commanding position against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Having posted 474 for nine, the visitors bowled the hosts out for 246 and enforced a follow on. At 13 without loss in the second innings, Railways were trailing by 215 runs when play ended for the day.

After Railways resumed their first innings on 35 for one, Akash Bhandari dealt the first blow of the day by accounting for Nitin Bhille leaving the hosts’ on 93 for two. 32 two runs later, Arindam Gosh and Shivkant Shukla were dismissed in successive overs by Mehdi Hasan and T Ravi Teja leaving Railways on 125 for four. Teja and co then ploughed through the rest of the lineup to help Hyderabad to a 228-run first innings lead.

Teja claimed 5/49 while Bhandari and Hasan took two wickets each while Ravi Kiran picked one to help Hyderabad enforce a follow on and press for victory.

Delhi vs Uttar Pradesh: UP claimed a first innings lead by bowling Delhi out for 269 after resuming on 228 for six. Building on the 22-run first innings lead, UP were 224 for seven at Stumps on Day 3. The Suresh Raina-led team were leading by 246 runs when play ended for the day. Surabh Kumar finished with a four-for while Imitiaz Ahmed picked three as they bowled Delhi out earlier in the day.

Ishant Sharma then claimed two wickets while N Saini picked one to leave UP on two for the loss of three wickets. However, Akshdeep Nath rebuilt the innings with Rinku Singh (64 off 80) after they were left on 21 for four. Batting on 110*, the middle-order batsman took UP to stumps with Imitiaz at the other end.

Maharashtra vs Karnataka: Mayank Agarwal’s maiden triple hundred complemented by Karun Nair’s century helped Karnataka raise a mountainous total. Agarwal was unbeaten on 304 when the visitors declared their innings on 628 for five. With a solid lead of 383, Karnataka were in a commanding position when they declared their innings.

Abhimanyu Mithun then claimed two wickets while Stuart Binny and Ronit More took a wicket each to leave Maharashtra on 135 for four at stumps.

After resuming their second innings on 45 for one, Kerala were bowled out for 191 by the Parvez Rasool-led attack. The J&K skipper claimed five wickets while Amir Aziz picked three.

However, despite the modest second innings score, building on the first innings lead Kerala set J & K a stiff 238-run target. Nidheesh MD, Sijomon Joseph and Jalaj Saxena then claimed two wickets each as they maintained a stranglehold on the J & K lineup and pushed the opposition on the back foot. They had left J & K were tottering on 56 for seven when play ended for the day.

Gujarat vs Haryana: Gujarat are on the brink of their third successive win of the season. After setting Haryana a 361-run target, Gujarat’s spinners had left the visitors reeling on 94 for seven at stumps. Earlier after resuming the innings on 110 for two, Gujarat declared their innings on 281 for nine. Priyank Panchal was the top-scorer with 67 while B Merai scored 66. Even as A Hooda (4/79) and Co continued to strike at regular intervals, the Gujarat lineup made valuable contributions to set Haryana a stiff target.

SA Desai and Piyush Chawla then wrecked the Haryana lineup from the word go. The top four batsmen were sent back for single-digit scores leaving the side on 28 for four. Desai claimed four while Chawla accounted for three wickets to leave Haryana on 54 for seven.

When play ended for the day, H Patel was batting with S Pahal.

Scorecard - http://www.bcci.tv/ranji-trophy-2017-18/match/44Saurashtra vs Jharkhand: Saurashtra continued to dominate the proceedings in Rajkot on Day 3. After Jharkhand resumed their innings on 52 for two, the hosts’ attack bowled the side out for 270. Having seized a solid 283-run first innings lead, Cheteshwar Pujara-led team then enforced a follow on, on the visitors.

V Jivrajani claimed 4/33 while Jaydev Unadkat and Sahurya Sanandia took two wickets each and D Jadeja picked one to wrap-up Jharkhand’s first innings earlier in the day.

At stumps on Day 3, Jharkhand were 139 for one in their second innings.

Baroda vs Tripura: After resuming on 63 for one on Day 3, Tripura were anchored to 327 for four by SK Patel (123*) until stumps. Yashpal Singh contributed a valuable 90 to help build the innings. At the end of day’s play, Patel was batting with R Dey.

Andhra vs Madhya Pradesh: DB Ravi Teja’s 167-ball 58 and Ashwin Hebber’s 135-ball 77 helped Andhra seize a crucial first innings lead against MP. The pair stitched a 143-run partnership for the sixth wicket to help the team shape a reply to MP’s respectable 321-run first innings total.

After Teja and Hebber resumed the innings on 177 for five, he continued to build the innings steadily and took Andhra past the 300-run mark. Mihir Hirwani (five wickets) ended the stand with the wicket of Teja with Andhra on 317 and in the next over, Ankit Sharma claimed Hebber to leave the hosts on 319 for seven. Ayyappa Bandaru then helped Andhra to a first innings lead. Andhra were leading by 55 runs when the side was bowled out for 376.

At Stumps, MP were 67 for five. Bandaru claimed three while Bhargav Bhatt and Hanuma Vihari took a wicket each.

Odisha vs Mumbai: Powered by Siddhesh Lad’s 117-run knock, Mumbai set Odisha a 413-run target. The hosts were left wobbling on 93 for four by the visitors pace attack.

Earlier after resuming the innings on 58 for three, Mumbai lost Dhawal Kulkarni with the score on 77. Suryakant Pradhan who had accounted for the night-watchman, followed up with the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav to leave Mumbai on 84 for five. While the visitors continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, Lad held one end up and helped the side build on the first innings lead and set up the game in Mumbai’s favour. Eight runs after Lad was caught by Biplab Samantray off his own bowling, Mumbai declared their second innings on 268 for nine.

Vijay Gohil then claimed Sandeep Pattanaik upfront to leave Odisha on 13 for one. Late in the final session of the day, Kulkarni accounted for Natraj Behera to leave the home team on 60 for two while Akash Parker dealt a double blow 26 runs later to push the opponents on the back-foot.

Bengal vs Himachal: Following on, Himachal were trailing by six runs with eight wickets in hand at the end of day’s play.

The Ashoke Dinda-led attack bowled HP out for 206 after resuming their first innings on 163 for five earlier in the day. The pacer claimed five while Mohammed Shami picked three wickets in the innings and Mukesh Kumar two to help Bengal to a 213-run first innings lead.

The visitors then put up a better performance in their second outing. P Khanduri and Prashant Chopra got HP off to a good start with 125-run opening stand until the latter was sent back by Mukesh. Four runs later, Shami accounted for S Verma.

Chhattisgarh vs Punjab: Anmolpreet Singh helped Punjab to a solid 415-run first innings lead with his maiden first-class double century. The young middle-order batsman resumed his innings on 171 on the third morning and went on to make 267 off 262 balls (32x4 and 4x6) as he put Punjab in a commanding position. Punjab declared their innings on 653 for nine at the fall of Anmolpreet’s wicket.

Strengthening the visitors’ position further, Sandeep Sharma and Barinder Sran claimed two wickets each to leave Chhattisgarh on 171 for four at Stumps. With the hosts trailing by 244 runs at the end of Day 3, Punjab need six wickets to register a win.

Vidarbha vs Services: The Umesh Yadav-led Vidarbha attack helped the hosts seize a 68-run first innings lead earlier in the day. While Umesh claimed both the overnight batsmen – Rahul Singh Gahlaut (63) and V Yadav (61) - Akshay Wakhare and Co ran through the rest of the lineup to bowl Services out for 317 after resuming on 141 for four in the morning.

Umesh gave the hosts their first breakthrough by sending back Gahlaut and leaving Services on 158 for five. V Yadav and Nakul Verma then joined hands to keep the innings in the fray. But the pacer struck a crucial blow by claiming V Yadav to end the blossoming stand and left the visitors on 266 for six. The spinners then wrapped up the innings. Wakhare finished with a five-wicket haul while Karn Sharma accounted for two and A Karnewar picked one wicket.

When play ended for the day, Vidarbha had lost both their openers and were 111 for two. The home team were leading by 179 runs at Stumps with SR Ramaswamy and overnight batsman Karn in the middle.